The Slow of Art

Photo By Steve N Depolo

This doing your art + becoming an everyday creative entrepreneur is hard. Especially if you feel like you are only sorta creative. You know, not quite like Pablo Picasso. At all. But you know you’ve got something there to offer. Something that needs a lot of polishing and honing and a whole lot of work. It’s not shining quite yet, but you know it’s dying to. And that one day, after bit by bit of slow labor, it will. Shine. Brilliantly. Albeit in its own small way to a small group of people.

So work on your Art, in minutes and seconds. In pieces and bits. Take one step closer, two steps back. But don’t stop. Because a lot of times, Art is Slow and for good reason. Overcoming fear and limiting beliefs we have about ourselves is not an overnight feat to accomplish. If it were, then we’d all be the Artists and Creative Entrepreneurs that we truly are.

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Blue

Photo By BookMama

No, I’m not talking about weddings today. More of like the birth of my new baby and a little bit of transformation with my old one. And I’m not talking about children either.

I haven’t quite fully explained everything that is going on here and it’s not intentional on my part. It’s simply that I’m slowly discovering the pieces to the Greater Picture forming in mind, and heart. This New Project that is dying to be born oh so painfully slow. And I write about it as I discover bit by bit. Someone said that Wisdom is only for what is Needed at the Moment. You can build Faith and Lessons from the past. You can have Hope and Possibilities for the future. But in the here and now is Wisdom and Love. And it is so true.

Indeed, what I have here in the making is something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.

And it’s rhymes and it’s perfect.

Something Old
Our world has become fast and furious and to keep up, we ought to innovate constantly. Or so we are told. Someone wise once said, “Innovation for the sake of Innovation is Masturbation.” If that offends you, good. Because it ought to. I mean, to innovate just for the sake of it. It’s self-serving. And it may make the charts now, but sooner or later something more innovative is going to take its place. And then what? And then we’re left with Something Old. The Classic Stuff. The Ageless Art. The Essentials. The Simplicity that we often miss. Stuff without fluff like plain old good music, truth that liberates, connections that change, and food that nourishes. Art is Something Old that we need to rediscover. Because it’s the stuff that is going to remain throughout time.

Something New
On the other hand, our world IS fast and furious and Something Old is not enough. Essentials are the foundation, but we need to have Something New to offer. We need to stand out. And it’s both easy and hard. Easy because we live in a world of Copycats and Average. You just need a little bit leverage to become Sorta Remarkable. The hard part is actually figuring out what that leverage is because it takes tremendous Soul Work. You gotta know the Core of Who You Are. It’s Radical Authenticity when a person knows exactly who they are and what they are supposed to do. Getting there is tough, but once you’re there, Art starts becoming a little bit more possible.

Something Borrowed
But you should not assume that you ought to go at it alone. Biggest.Mistake.Ever. Because you need the Genius of other people. Something Old + Something New is going to be quite something if Something Borrowed is added to the mix. Just be savvy and strategic about who you borrow from. They must understand the power of Simplicity + Soul Work, or they aren’t really worth listening to. Lots of people parrot or paraphrase or altogether repackage something from Others’ Genius and Gifts but this isn’t what we are talking about here. We’re talking about letting Others Work inspire your Art and empower you towards Authenticity.

Something Blue
So my color scheme here on this site happens to be blue. And blue is about your Intellect + Clarity. Art is Soul Work but Art is also Mind Work. There’s a lot of thought-junk in your mind that needs sorting out before your Art can Emerge. Your mind is a powerful thing and few of us have intentionally set out to learn how to master it. There’s also a lot of information-junk in the world that needs filtering, reframing and deconstructing. Some liken it to taking captive your thoughts, but I simply think of it as: thinking about what we are thinking. Oh my. Lots of Thinking going on here. Which is why Your Art needs Clarity.

So go discover something old, create something new, find something borrowed and work on something blue. And you’re on your way to Making the Art that Matters.

The Art of Becoming: How Radical Honesty is Essential

Photo By RSKoon

Yes, I have a fascination for masks. I’ve mentioned that before, and unfortunately, it’s not going away. But there is a good reason for it.

Most of us wear one. Or more.

It’s tragic, but it’s true.

If you were raised in a home where you learned more about Who You Should Be versus Who You Truly are, if you went to school learning How To Pass Grade Levels By Doing What Other People Tell You To Do instead of learning How To Learn and Lead With Your Whole Unique Self, if you found work where you learn How To Do Tasks That Make Other People Rich in place of work where you learn How To Create Art That Changes Lives in whatever industry you find yourself in, you are in good company.

It’s the way of the Status Quo. And Status Quo is Never Revolutionary.

What is desperately needed are people who understand the Art of Becoming Who They Are so they can offer to the world what is uniquely theirs to give. Because the world needs our gifts. And there are no inconsequential gifts.

And we start on the path of Becoming by unmasking. We need to see clearly who we are. A radical honesty is required. And it’s a hell of a work. It’s hard and the road is uncomfortably narrow. There is no road map. There’s only Wisdom.

Beyond Fear Is Art

Photo By Krypto

Someone said that Beyond Fear is Freedom. And I agree. Except that freedom sometimes feel too vague. Freedom to do what? To express our selves? To change the world? To follow our bliss?  Yes, yes, and yes. All of the above. And it all culminates in creating Art.

Seth Godin, one of my all-time favorite thought leaders alive, redefines Art as:

1. Art is made by a human being.
2. Art is created to have an impact, to change someone else.
3. Art is a gift. You can sell the souvenir, the canvas, the recording… but the idea itself is free, and the generosity is a critical part of making art.

I love that. I love that Art is not restricted to paints and canvas and poetry. Finally, Art is liberated from the elite to the everyday human. Art is when we do our best work that is worthwhile giving to Others. Art is what we are meant to do with our lives: to be fully human, to connect and to give. But most often, we complexify our humanity, engage in all sorts of neurotic power struggles with Others, and hoard the Treasures we are meant to share lavishly. Because of what?

Fear.

Yes, we are afraid. Afraid of Authenticity, of Love, of Generosity. It’s freakin’ risky. I mean, the possible hurt, rejection, failure, and all that stuff we love to loathe.

But we are Created to create. We are meant to make Art. Everyday. Whether it’s creating the most awesome meals, or putting words to thoughts that liberate and heal, or being present to those who need encouragement in whatever way best fits who you are, that is living beyond fear. Because beyond fear, is Art.

Rearrange Your Life: When Decluttering Isn’t Quite Called For

Photo by fa73

Yesterday was pretty productive around the house. I’ve mentioned before how I often rearrange the furniture around here and I haven’t done it in awhile. I haven’t been inspired at all, but lately I have been feeling like things needed-a-changing and there wasn’t much to de-clutter around here. We keep things to a minimal most of the time but I love the constant change that rearranging provides because it keeps things fresh and novel without having to add anything in or take anything out. It’s such a good exercise in creativity: rethinking about what you already have in new ways.

I wish I took a before + after picture so you can see what a huge difference it made to put the couch there and the dining table there and the TV here. But I wasn’t thinking blog-post material, so you’d just have to trust me on this one. Our living room feels more open and welcoming, especially since our TV is not the central piece anymore and has become a side accessory. And there are a lot more empty places that do not need filling in. I feel a creative energy from freeing those spaces.

Sometimes, all you really need is to rearrange the pieces in your life to create spaces you didn’t think you had and to discover a hidden beauty that you missed before, even though it had been there all along.